April 2nd - Happy Birthday Christopher Meloni & Clark GreggToday is Monday, April 2, the 93rd day of 2012. There are 273 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:
On April 2, 1912, the just-completed RMS Titanic left Belfast to begin its sea trials eight days before the start of its ill-fated maiden voyage.

On this date:
In 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon landed in present-day Florida.
In 1755, Commodore William James captures the pirate fortress of Suvarnadurg on west coast of India.
In 1792, Congress passed the Coinage Act, which authorized establishment of the U.S. Mint.
In 1800, Ludwig van Beethoven premiered his Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21, in Vienna.
In 1801, Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Copenhagen, The British capture the Danish fleet.
In 1851, Rama IV is crowned King of Thailand.
In 1860, the first Italian Parliament met at Turin.
In 1863, Richmond Bread Riot: Food shortages incite hundreds of angry women to riot in Richmond, Virginia and demand that the Confederate government release emergency supplies.
In 1865, American Civil War: The Siege of Petersburg is broken, Union troops capture the trenches around Petersburg, Virginia, forcing Confederate General Robert E. Lee to retreat.
In 1865, American Civil War: Confederate President Jefferson Davis and most of his Cabinet flee the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia.
In 1885, Cree warriors attacked the village of Frog Lake, North-West Territories, Canada, killing 9.
In 1900, The Congress passes the Foraker Act, giving Puerto Rico limited self-rule.
In 1902, Dmitry Sipyagin, Minister of Interior of the Russian Empire, is assassinated in the Marie Palace, St Petersburg.
In 1902, "Electric Theatre", the first full-time movie theater in the United States, opens in Los Angeles.
In 1911, The Australian Bureau of Statistics conducts the country's first national census.
In 1917, President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war against Germany, saying, "The world must be made safe for democracy." (Congress declared war four days later.)
In 1921, The Autonomous Government of Khorasan, a military government encompassing the modern state of Iran, is established.
In 1930, After the mysterious death of Empress Zewditu, Haile Selassie is proclaimed emperor of Ethiopia.
In 1932, aviator Charles A. Lindbergh and John F. Condon went to a cemetery in The Bronx, N.Y., where Condon turned over $50,000 to a man in exchange for Lindbergh's kidnapped son. (The child, who was not returned, was found dead the following month.)
In 1942, Glenn Miller and his orchestra recorded "American Patrol" at the RCA Victor studios in Hollywood.
In 1945, Diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Brazil are established.
In 1956, As the World Turns and The Edge of Night premiere on CBS-TV. The two soaps become the first daytime dramas to debut in the 30-minute format.
In 1962, The first official Panda crossing is opened outside Waterloo station, London.
In 1968, the science-fiction film "2001: A Space Odyssey," produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, had its world premiere in Washington, D.C.
In 1972, Actor Charlie Chaplin returns to the United States for the first time since being labeled a communist during the Red Scare in the early 1950s.
In 1973, Launch of the LexisNexis computerized legal research service.
In 1973, The Liberal Movement breaks away from the Liberal and Country League in South Australia.
In 1974, French President Georges Pompidou died in Paris.
In 1975, Vietnam War: Thousands of civilian refugees flee from the Quang Ngai Province in front of advancing North Vietnamese troops.
In 1975, Construction of the CN Tower is completed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It reaches [sign in to see URL] metres (1,815.4 ft) in height, becoming the world's tallest free-standing structure.
In 1980, President Jimmy Carter signs the Crude Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act in an effort to help the U.S. economy rebound.
In 1982, several thousand troops from Argentina seized the disputed Falkland Islands, located in the south Atlantic, from Britain. (Britain seized the islands back the following June.)
In 1984, Squadron Leader Rakesh Sharma is launched aboard Soyuz T-11, and becomes the first Indian in space.
In 1989, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev arrives in Havana, Cuba to meet with Fidel Castro in an attempt to mend strained relations.
In 1991, Rita Johnston becomes the first female Premier of a Canadian province when she succeeds William Vander Zalm (who had resigned) as Premier of British Columbia.
In 1992, In New York, Mafia boss John Gotti is convicted of murder and racketeering and is later sentenced to life in prison.
In 2002, Israeli forces surround the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem into which armed Palestinians had retreated. A siege ensues.
In 2004, Islamist terrorists involved in the 11 March 2004 Madrid attacks attempt to bomb the Spanish high-speed train AVE near Madrid. Their attack is thwarted.
In 2006, More than 60 tornadoes break out in the United States; hardest hit is in Tennessee with 29 people killed.

Ten years ago: Israel seized control of Bethlehem; Palestinian gunmen forced their way into the Church of the Nativity, the traditional birthplace of Jesus, where they began a 39-day standoff.

Five years ago: In its first case on climate change, the Supreme Court declared in a 5-4 ruling that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases were air pollutants under the Clean Air Act. A tsunami in the Solomon Islands killed at least 50 people. Florida won its second consecutive college basketball championship, beating Ohio State 84-75; the Gators became the first team to repeat since Duke in 1991-92. Coaches Phil Jackson and Roy Williams were among those named to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

One year ago: Highly radioactive water leaked into the sea from a crack at Japan's stricken nuclear power plant; meanwhile, earthquake-tsunami survivors complained that the government was not paying enough heed to victims. Connecticut's Geno Auriemma, Miami's Katie Meier and Stanford's Tara VanDerveer were named co-recipients of The Associated Press' coach of the year award. Maya Moore was named player of the year for the second time in three seasons after leading Connecticut to another spectacular year.

Re: April 2ndToday is Tuesday, April 2, the 92nd day of 2013. There are 273 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:
On April 2, 1863, during the Civil War, the Richmond Bread Riot erupted in the Confederate capital as a mob made up mostly of women, outraged over food shortages and rising prices, attacked and looted stores.

One year ago: A gunman killed seven people at Oikos University, a Christian school in Oakland, Calif. (Suspected gunman One (wahn) Goh was found not mentally fit for trial until deemed competent.) President Barack Obama challenged the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold his health care overhaul during a Rose Garden news conference. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled, 5-4, that jailers may perform invasive strip searches on people arrested even for minor offenses. Five-time All-Star Reggie Miller joined longtime NBA coach Don Nelson and college standout Ralph Sampson as part of a 12-member class to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Kentucky won its eighth men's national NCAA basketball title, holding off Kansas for a 67-59 victory.

Re: April 2ndToday is Wednesday, April 2, the 92nd day of 2014. There are 273 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:
On April 2, 1914, British actor Sir Alec Guinness, whose roles in a 66-year career ranged from Hamlet to Obi-Wan Kenobi in "Star Wars," was born in London. He also was in the epics "The Bridge On the River Kwai," "Doctor Zhivago" and "A Passage to India."

Ten years ago: A judge in New York declared a mistrial in the grand-larceny case against two former Tyco executives after a juror apparently received an intimidating letter and phone call for supposedly siding with the defense. (Former CEO L. Dennis Kozlowski and CFO Mark H. Swartz were convicted in a retrial of looting Tyco of more than $600 million in corporate bonuses and loans; each was sentenced to 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison. Both were paroled in Jan. 2014.) Flags of seven new NATO members from former communist Europe rose at alliance headquarters in Brussels for the first time, marking the biggest expansion in NATO's 55-year history.

Five years ago: Leaders of the world's rich and major developing countries met at an emergency G-20 economic summit in London; afterward, President Barack Obama hailed agreements they had reached as a "turning point in our pursuit of global economic recovery," but cautioned, "there are no guarantees." The House and Senate passed companion budget plans, giving President Obama and his allies on Capitol Hill a key victory. A 19-count federal racketeering indictment was returned against former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (blah-GOY'-uh-vich); the ousted Democrat denied doing anything illegal. Penn State beat Baylor 69-63 to win the NIT title.

One year ago: North Korea said it would restart its long-shuttered plutonium reactor and increase production of nuclear weapons material, in what outsiders saw as its latest attempt to extract U.S. concessions by raising fears of war. Pope Francis prayed before the tomb of Pope John Paul II on the eighth anniversary of the beloved pontiff's death. Irish character actor Milo O'Shea, 86, died in New York.

Re: April 2nd - Happy Birthday Christopher Meloni & Clark GreggToday is Thursday, April 2, the 92nd day of 2015. There are 273 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:
On April 2, 1865, Confederate President Jefferson Davis and most of his Cabinet fled the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, because of advancing Union forces.

Ten years ago: Pope John Paul II, who'd helped topple communism in Europe and left a deeply conservative stamp on the church that he'd led for 26 years, died in his Vatican apartment at age 84. Terri Schiavo's body was cremated as disagreements continued between her husband and her parents, who were unable to have their own independent expert observe her autopsy. An Australian helicopter on a relief mission in Indonesia crashed on earthquake-devastated Nias (nee-AHS') Island, killing nine people on board.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama, visiting a factory in Charlotte, North Carolina, hailed a new government report showing the most jobs created in nearly three years, saying, "We are beginning to turn the corner." Gunmen seeking to pass themselves off as U.S. and Iraqi soldiers raided a Sunni village outside Baghdad, killing at least 24 people in an execution-style attack. Ohio State junior swingman Evan Turner was the runaway choice as The Associated Press' college basketball player of the year; Syracuse's Jim Boeheim (BAY'-hym) was the AP's college basketball coach of the year.

One year ago: The Supreme Court's conservative majority voted 5-4 to free wealthy individuals to donate to as many political candidates and campaigns as they wanted, further loosening the reins on giving by big contributors. At Fort Hood in Texas, three soldiers were killed and 16 others were wounded in a shooting rampage by another soldier, Army Spc. Ivan A. Lopez, who then killed himself.

Re: April 2nd - Happy Birthday Christopher Meloni & Clark GreggToday is Saturday, April 2, the 93rd day of 2016. There are 273 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:
On April 2, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war against Germany, saying, "The world must be made safe for democracy." (Congress declared war four days later.)

Ten years ago: Tornadoes killed 23 people in Tennessee and four others in the South and Midwest. Journalist Jill Carroll arrived in Boston, tearfully embracing her parents and twin sister after 82 days as a hostage in Iraq. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw made a surprise trip to Iraq to urge its leaders to form a unified government.

Five years ago: Highly radioactive water leaked into the sea from a crack at Japan's stricken nuclear power plant; meanwhile, earthquake-tsunami survivors complained that the government was not paying enough heed to victims. Connecticut's Geno Auriemma, Miami's Katie Meier and Stanford's Tara VanDerveer were named co-recipients of The Associated Press coach of the year award. Maya Moore was named player of the year for the second time in three seasons after leading Connecticut to another spectacular year.

One year ago: Capping a week of difficult negotiations, the United States, Iran and five other world powers said they had agreed on an outline of limits on Iran's nuclear program that would prevent it from developing nuclear weapons in exchange for sanctions relief. Al-Shabab gunmen rampaged through a college in northeastern Kenya, killing at least 148 people. A Russian trawler, the Dalny Vostok, sank in just 15 minutes in icy waters off Russia's Far Eastern coast, killing at least 56 crew members. Rev. Robert H. Schuller, 88, died in Artesia, California. Stanford won its second NIT title, edging Miami 66-64.

Re: April 2nd - Happy Birthday Christopher Meloni & Clark GreggToday is Sunday, April 2, the 92nd day of 2017. There are 273 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:
On April 2, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war against Germany, saying, "The world must be made safe for democracy." (Congress declared war four days later.)

Ten years ago: In its first case on climate change, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency, ruled 5-4 that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases were air pollutants under the Clean Air Act. Florida won its second consecutive college basketball championship, beating Ohio State 84-75; the Gators became the first team to repeat since Duke in 1991-92. Coaches Phil Jackson and Roy Williams were among those named to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Five years ago: A gunman killed seven people at Oikos University, a Christian school in Oakland, California. (Suspected gunman One Goh, a former student, was found not mentally fit to stand trial.) The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that jailers may perform invasive strip searches on people arrested even for minor offenses. Five-time All-Star Reggie Miller joined longtime NBA coach Don Nelson and college standout Ralph Sampson as part of a 12-member class to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Kentucky won its eighth men's national NCAA basketball title, holding off Kansas for a 67-59 victory.

One year ago: Mormon leaders meeting in Salt Lake City called on church members to practice tolerance despite political differences, providing guidance at a conference amid a presidential campaign marked by harsh rhetoric and bickering. Connecticut senior Breanna Stewart won the AP Player of the Year award for a record third time; her coach, Geno Auriemma (aw-ree-EH'-muh), won the Coach of the Year award for the eighth time. Sixteen-year-old Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia capped a dominant debut season by winning the world championship in Boston with a record-setting free skate score; Ashley Wagner of the U.S. came in second while another Russian, Anna Pogorilaya, placed third.